While Scott Walker travels around the country trying out right wing sound bites for his presidential ambitions, he’s letting his job responsibilities back home in Wisconsin fizzle out with layoffs on track to reach 10,000 this year — the highest number since Walker took office. National Journal took a look at GOP governors running for president in 2016 and found that each — especially Walker — has had their popularity crater amid lackluster results.
NJ asks, “Can you be disliked by a majority of your constituents back home and still make the case for being president?”
And as he spends more time outside the state, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker hit an all-time low in job approval this month, weakening his argument that he’s a principled conservative who has been able to maintain his popularity in a Democratic-friendly state.
The tales of Walker, Christie, and Jindal undermine the strongest case for the governor-to-president track—that their governing records would be unqualified advantages. The biggest problem for them is that it’s hard to run their home states while spending days far from home campaigning in New Hampshire and Iowa…
A Wisconsin State Journal study found that Walker has been out of state for about half of this year, even as a contentious legislative battle over his budget is heating up…
Two-thirds of Wisconsin voters in the Marquette Law poll said there is no way a governor can “run for president and still handle their duties as governor.” Walker’s overall approval rating dipped to 41 percent.
National Journal: Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind for GOP’s 2016 Governors
Published: Apr 29, 2015